Superior Surf Shorts: Vans

(For all of 2019’s Superior Surf Shorts, head here!)

Long the slumbering big dog of surf, Vans looks like it’s getting set to launch a full-scale offensive at the surfing world. And we’ll be all the richer for it. Vans appears to be giving the trunk game a nudge too, and their latest offering is every bit as tasteful as you’d expect. No gimmicks here, just trunks that you’ll buy, you’ll wear, and grow increasingly fond of over time.

Kyuss wears the Surf Trunk.

The men in charge of the trunk sector of the hefty Vans shop, are Max Vorlop and Daniel Hernandez. For them, we’re living in the golden age of surfing trunks, as it’s an all-inclusive, anything goes type time. “Whatever flavour of boardshort you’re after, it’s out there,” says Max. “From classic to performance and everything in between.”

Kyuss wears the Voyage Trunk.

This year’s Vans release centres around three pairs of trunks with three different functions. The first, and no prizes for guessing what their designed for, is the Surf Trunk. “It’s our most ambitious boardshort design to date and is the culmination of two years’ worth of design, experimentation, and testing,” says Daniel. “We used new solutions for old problems and built the trunk as a piece of surf equipment. It has a ton of features, but the bottom line is: it’s unique, it’s comfortable, and it performs exceptionally well.”

Kyuss meditates in the Ever-Ride Boardies.

The Voyage trunk is the spawn of collaboration between the design team, and the surf team. Vans has one of the strongest and most eclectic team’s going, so you know if it works for them, then chances are it’ll work for you too. “These guys are on the road all year long and need one trunk they can bring everywhere to do anything in,” Max says. “It was originally designed as a versatile multi-purpose short, but it performs so well, some of the guys have surfed heats and pumping Cloudbreak in them.”

We like the idea of bespoke pieces with set functions, and Vans covers the bases in style.

If you’re in the market for some keepers, come browse the Vans racks.